Where an individual is the sole owner of agricultural property (
IHTM24030) and occupies the land for
agricultural purposes as a sole trader (
IHTM24151) they will be entitled to
give vacant possession of the land and will qualify for relief at
the higher rate.
A beneficial joint tenant or tenant in common (in Scotland,
a joint owner or owner in common) is regarded under IHTA84/S116 (6)
as having the right to vacant possession if his interest in the
property and the similar interests of all the other co-owners
together carry that right.
Before s155 Finance Act 1995 introduced the higher rate of
relief on tenancies created on or after 1 September 1995 (
IHTM24240) it was not uncommon to see
it claimed that an agricultural tenancy (IHTM24200) did not exist
on cases where the land was occupied
So vacant possession was obtainable and relief at 100% rather
than 50% was sought – In any such case you should investigate
whether an agricultural tenancy did exist, unless you have evidence
that the land was subject to grass keep lettings (
IHTM24142) for less than a year at a
time.
Evidence of tenancies may be obtainable from Articles of
Partnership, from the files of previous owners, for examples a
predeceased spouse or civil partner (
IHTM11032), from deductions for rent in
business accounts, or returns of rental income in the deceased's
Income Tax papers.
